ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎

Soonyoung ran his tongue over his teeth, his rage settling as he saw the articles get taken down one by one. Jihoon crying outside after their "date" and resting in another man's arms wasn't exactly a good look, because the public certainly didn't care to know that it was in fact, his bodyguard.

Especially not with their wedding, which was today. The day had finally come and to wreck it all, some stupid news outlets had decided to release these articles.

Soonyoung had managed to take down immediately he saw them but the damage had already been done.

Their wedding day would now be heavily judged and inspected by every guest and every viewer. Jihoon's rebuff actually hurt him, deep in his soul, something he didn't think could actually happen.

Not after all the shit he'd experienced.

Jihoon's words replayed in his head like a radio, broadcasting his declaration throughout Soonyoung's brain.

I hate you with all my being.

You are an insolent and evil man.

If truly this was how Jihoon felt about him, convincing the pretty angel to accept him was going to be much harder than Soonyoung realised.

But he didn't understand it either. Why did Jihoon hate him so much?

Maybe he wasn't a good person, maybe others who didn't know him personally hated him because of the news they'd heard about him but why did Jihoon dislike him so much?

What had Soonyoung done to him other than try and help him adjust to the situation?

"Sir, all the tabloids have been taken down, but some people have started to question the motives of the wedding on forums." Wonwoo informed Soonyoung who cracked his neck, annoyed by the news. He needed everyone to be on his side, their side.

That was the only way this was going to work.

"Manipulate the news as much as you can Wonwoo, do everything in your power to change the public opinion, I need this to work." Hoshi ordered, sending Wonwoo out of his dressing room.

He fiddled with his fully black suit while the hairdressers styled his hair, pushing it back and exposing his forehead.

It was a fake wedding, but he couldn't deny that he was slightly nervous, the truth obvious in his sweaty palms.

Kwon Soonyoung never got nervous. Not by anyone or anything. So why did this fake wedding set off his nerves?

Why was the thought of making someone who didn't want him his nerve-wracking? After all, this was all for show.

It would all be over and done within a year.

Right?

•••••••••••••

"Hyung, you look so good!" Chan brushed the off the dust from the shoulders of Jihoon's suit as he stared in awe at how handsome his brother looked.

"If only it was a real wedding." Seokmin sighed, fixing the flying strand of his brother's hair. Mrs. Lee faced her sons with an endearing expression. She didn't realise that the day one of her sons would get married would come so soon and it had her feeling emotional.

Despite the fact that the marriage wasn't "real".

Mrs. Lee folded Jihoon's collar as she looked at her son with a gleeful smile on her face. Jihoon glanced at his mother, heavily perplexed. "Why are you so happy mom, all of this is fake, you know that right?" He reminded his mother who just smiled even wider, not saying anything in return.

He turned to his brothers beside him who shrugged before they continued to use their phones. "Who knows Jihoon? Maybe you'll fall in love with him one day." Mrs Lee whispered into his ears as she positioned his bowtie properly.

Jihoon shook his head immediately, refuting her statement, "No I won't mom, he's not a good person." His hands slid into his pockets and Mrs Lee sighed, moving backwards, taking in the overall outfit.

"Who told you that?" She asked as her eyes scanned the suit for any issues or problems she could fix. Jihoon sighed, crossing his arms.

"I don't need anyone to tell me mom, I have access to the internet, the things they write about him are never good," Jihoon explained, his tone laced with rancour, "He's a killer, a savage mad man, I will never love him."

Jihoon's words were final. A promise to not just himself but to every single guest at the wedding, including his family members and his future husband as well.

Mrs Lee shook her head, sucking her teeth as she walked off. "You can't believe everything you see on the internet darling, there's beauty in everything and everyone, you just have to find it." She counselled Jihoon who refused to hear her through, letting her words fade out instead.

"I won't do that. I won't drown myself in Kwon Soonyoung more than I already have." Jihoon decided just before the door opened and Jun walked in, moving their attention to him.

"Mr. Kwon wants to see you now, privately." Jun informed Jihoon whose eyes darted to his mother and his brothers before they went back to Jun. "Why?"

"He says he has something to tell you, in private." Jun clarified and Mrs Lee stood up, a suspicious smile on her face as she walked out of the dressing room.

"Aren't you not supposed to see each other until the ceremony begins?" Seokmin asked and Chan shrugged, waiting for Soonyoung to come in, his hands crossed and his protective mode activated.

"Lee Chan!" Mrs. Lee yelled making him flinch. He sighed and dragged Seokmin with him as he left the room, joining his mother outside.

Soonyoung bowed to Jihoon's family members but only received a smile back from his mother and glares from his brother.

Damn, did every man in this family hate him?

While they left for the hall, he entered Jihoon's dressing room.

As he stepped inside, his eyes stopped at the sight of Jihoon. He looked absolutely breathtaking and he was, literally, taking Soonyoung's breath away.

The suit tailored for him fit him so well, subtly showing off his defined muscular build but also giving him a pure aura, making him seem all the more desirable to Soonyoung.

He couldn't believe he would be marrying this angel today. Someone whose presence brightened the room, someone whose beauty blinded thousands of people all at once.

Soonyoung didn't know what he had done to Jihoon to make him hate him so much but whatever he'd done, he wanted to correct it, apologize even though he hated apologizing, and get into Jihoon's good books.

"What do you want?" Jihoon questioned, his tone a bit hostile as the feeling of Soonyoung's gaze on him made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Listen, I don't know what I did to make you hate me so much but whatever it is, I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me and just let the past be in the past."

Soonyoung apologized but to Jihoon, it only sounded like a cover-up, something to make the marriage easier for him because if Jihoon was on his side, he had nothing to stress him and nothing to worry about.

Soonyoung huffed, fighting the urge to run his hand through his styled hair as he took a deep breath. "Articles have been posted everywhere about you crying, after our date, into another man's arms and people are starting to think the wedding is fake, which is not the goal."

Jihoon rolled his eyes as he replied. "So what?" Soonyoung opened his mouth to say something but shut it soon after, closing his eyes to calm himself down.

As he opened his eyes and made eye contact with Jihoon, he retorted, "I don't want this plan to fail and neither does your father so I'm going to kiss you during the ceremony and I'm going to act like I love you so much and you can join me or you can continue cold shouldering me, it's your choice Jihoon."

Soonyoung's tone was somewhat woeful, his eyes had a semi-hidden sadness to them as he raised his hands slightly, placing them together. "But please, just don't fuck this up for me." He pleaded before turning around to leave.

"By the way, you look... gorgeous." Soonyoung complimented, sincerely, before leaving, his staff following behind him.

Jihoon released a breath he hadn't realised he was holding, his hands migrating to his chest as he sat down on the arm chair in the dressing room, allowing Soonyoung's words to simmer.

He knew he also had to make it believable. Make their "love" look real. Make the public regret ever thinking their wedding was fake.

It wasn't just Soonyoung's company that was on the line, it was also his father's company which would eventually be passed down to him, his family's reputation and himself.

It was going to be hard, it was going to be painful but he had to just go through with it. He had to try his best no matter what.

Just for today. He would "love" Kwon Soonyoung just for today.

Just enough to change everyone's mind.

And after that, they would live separately in their own home until the day the contract ended. Jihoon had planned it all out in his head and he was satisfied with the final product.

Their divorce.

He just had to wait one year. Exactly a year from now and everything would be over.

He could do this. For the people he cared about and for himself.

He could marry Kwon Soonyoung.

ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎ꨄ︎

Ⓒ︎𝙾𝙷𝚆𝙰𝚈𝙾𝙷𝚆𝙰𝚈𝙾𝙷
𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙴𝙳 - 11•01•2025
𝙴𝙽𝙳𝙴𝙳 - 𝙽•𝙰